Customer Reviews

Doomsday Can Wait

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the second book in the Phoenix Chronicles series, following the fight between the light and the dark, and the role of leader that Liz never wanted, but has come to accept. Unlike her Moon series, this one is told in the first person POV with a continuing story. It's also loaded with creatures from mythology outside of the normal shifters and vampires we've come to expect from Urban Fantasies.

Most of her army was killed in the first book and Liz needs Jimmy's help to locate the others that went into hiding. Only Jimmy is trying to hide from her because his father brought out his vampire beast and now he feels he's too dangerous to be around others; especially Liz.

While this is going on, a woman who turns into smoke, Sawyer's mother, is trying to kill her. How do you kill an evil spirit who plans on releasing the Grigori, causing total chaos on the planet? Sawyer has been trying for years. Along the way, two more people get picked up and added to her arsenal.

I like the fact that while Liz is in many ways a kick-butt heroine, she's definitely vulnerable. She doesn't know the limits of what she can do, but thinks outside of the box to solve problems. And yes, she does make some mistakes. The story contains elements of humor and there is a romantic interest in two men that may or may not go anywhere. The mythology isn't just thrown at us; we get a short history lesson on various creatures, entities and objects.

I found it difficult to put the book down, but do not recommend that anyone start it before reading Any Given Doomsday. You'd be missing too much.

This is the second in a new series by Handeland. In this series psychic and former cop Liz Phoenix is finally starting to embrace her new status as a leader of good guys out to stop the Apocalypse. Helping her are characters from the first book (Sawyer, Jimmy, Summer, Ruthie, etc) as well as one or two new ones. We don't know much about any of the characters, because they all seem to refuse to tell Liz (and therefore us) anything about themselves. Way too secretive...

I don't want to tell too much because I don't want to include any spoilers, but honestly, this felt like a Laurell K. Hamilton knock off to me. And not the good earlier Anita books, but the really sucky later ones. To be honest, too I felt like the main purpose of the plot is to advance ways for the Liz to have sex with Sawyer and Jimmy. Liz can absorb someone's powers by having sex with them - a la Anita Blake. Sawyer feels like the practical Jean Luc and Jimmy is the whinny but powerful Richard. I have to say I dislike Jimmy as much as I do what Richard was turned into. Oh, and Summer - pretty much hate her.

All that being said, I would have rated this a 2.5 b/c it isn't awful, but I won't be reading any more in this series. The plot has potential, and the book moves pretty quickly. So, if you like the LATER Anita Black books, or even Merry Gentry, give this one a try. This series doesn't have the charisma (or whatever the equivalent is for a book) that the Anita series does to make you keep reading even through awful books hoping the series gets better. Basically it is a Hamilton knock off - quality isn't quite as good as the real thing, not as long lasting, but sometimes worth it if you don't have to pay too much, you don't have anything else to spend your money on and you like the original (in this case the last 9 or 10 Anita books).

"Doomsday Can Wait" was another hit for me by Lori Handeland. This is urban fantasy with hot sex and enough paranormal critters to keep anybody happy. There's blood, but not gore. There's a cool twist on reality that's more than just a cast of supernatural beings. And there's a tight plot that keeps you turning pages as fast as you can read.

Since Liz recently managed to stave off Doomsday (not that any normal humans know about that, thank God) she's been enjoying a little down time. She deserves it seeing how she had to kill her boyfriend (OK, he's a vampire so he's undead) and almost died herself. She's also not seen sexy Sawyer and she's pretty sure she's happy about that. But when a mysterious shadow woman keeps trying to kill her and Sawyer's talisman is the only thing stopping her, Liz sets off to find both of them. Once she does, she must make a difficult choice carefully because the wrong choice could start Doomsday...again.

I can't begin to include all the cool stuff in this series. Even though it's not marketed as paranormal romance, there's plenty of sexual tension and follow-through in Liz's life. She has her childhood sweetheart who will always occupy a special place in her heart and was the one to help her understand her new powers, and the smoldering mystic who practices sex magic on and with Liz. Fans of the early Anita Blake (by Laurell K. Hamilton) will likely succumb to Liz's world just like I have...and be happy to do so.

So whether you call it urban fantasy, paranormal romance, or contemporary fantasy, it's all good. Lori Handeland's world is distinct and different, and her characters are built slowly but surely into people with all the complexities of any race. This isn't hearts and flowers, and it's a very different series from Handeland's 'Moon' books. But it's a serious I'm happy to read, and anxious to find out where it will take me next.

I loved this and I love Elizabeth, now here is a rare heroine that's not a Mary Sue character. I've gotten sick to death of all these insert heriones who can do no wrong and who never have to face any consequences for any of their actions from one book to the next. I wish this series was more popular than it is. This author deserves more popularity than she enjoys for this series, but I guess in this age of fan-fic Mary Sue's popularity, many are too used to characters who they can simply insert themselves in to get into the fantasy. Can't insert yourself into Phoenix, she is not every woman and you won't like all her choices, but she feels real and is far, far, far from perfect.

Elizabeth Phoenix used use her psychic skills with the Milwaukee police, but soon learns what her horrific visions mean when monsters murder her foster mother Ruthie and left her unconscious; now she can see the monsters (see ANY GIVEN DOOMSDAY). Because of her skills, she has become a federation leader fighting the dark. She actually wins her first battle though many of her soldiers die in the confrontation as she learns the difficult responsibility of a general as she deploys people she knows she is sending to die even though success delays Doomsday for now.

Liz has numerous enemies now including the Navaho witch woman of smoke Naye'I, mother of her skinwalking ally Sawyer. She is unsure she can trust her former lover Jimmy Sanducci; as she and he recently learned he is a dhampire who feels he is losing his restrain to not turn to his sire's enticing malice. To defeat Naye'i, Liz knows she needs two allies, Sawyer and Jimmy, but one is the son of her adversary and the other has walked the dark side next to his purebred malevolent father.

The second Phoenix Chronicles urban fantasy has the world even darker and grittier in spite of insuring DOOMSDAY CAN WAIT for a future engagement. Liz is terrific as the story line focuses on her inner doubts re sending people to certain death and trusting Sawyer and Jimmy while trying to understand the enormous visions that shake her core as all she sees is bleakness. The apocalypse is here as Lori Handeland provides a powerful gloomy world with little hope for humanity's survival as the sinister minions of wickedness march forward seeking a second battle. The constant war of attrition is on the side of evil.

Harriet Klausner

Liz Phoenix is one of the only few on earth who has the psychic power to fight the evil forces that have tried to wipe out the human race - and continue to try. She's now the boss of the federation, the people who are fighting to save everyone. She's already lost most of her soldiers in a war, and now to survive and hopefully replenish her resources and get more people fighting with her, she has to rely on people she doesn't trust. Including her ex, Jimmy Sanducci.

But she still has feelings for him and those feelings could endanger not only her life, but the life of everyone in the world. Sawyer, the mysterious sorcerer who lives in the desert, is also fighting by hr side, but can she trust him?

Doomsday is coming, Liz needs all the help she can get but will it be too late to save the world?

This is the second book in The Phoenix Chronicles series and it follows Liz as she tries to rally the remaining soldiers to destroy an old evil that's gunning from her. Handeland does a fantastic job mixing the urban fantasy with a bit of romance thrown in to make things even more interesting. The action packs quite a punch and the story is just awesome to read. I love Liz's character and how strong she is, I love Sawyer and how it seems like we're not sure if he's with the good guys or not, he's definitely one of my favorite characters. Doomsday Can Wait is action-packed, with a heroine who's more than willing to kick butt and I definitely enjoyed myself reading the book. I'm so looking forward to where Handeland takes us next!

Handeland is a seasoned author with an easy to read style. In this second novel of the (Elizabeth) Phoenix Chronicles, I particularly enjoyed the way she portrayed the complexity of (protagonist) Elizabeth's motivations and relationships, betrayal and sacrifice and a confusion over good and evil in a world rich with shades of gray. The protagonist Elizabeth discovers that even her dead quasi-angel former "mother" Ruthie betrayed her - for the good of the world.

As for plot, this second Book in the Phoenix Chronicles picks up shortly after the first novel ends. Elizabeth (Liz) Phoenix has been abandoned by her first love, Jimmy, who (a half-vampire dhampir) has developed a lust for blood. Elizabeth must interrupt her efforts to save the world to find Jimmy before he can end his own life in despair.

Now, when I discovered that the main character was going to aquire powers through sex, I almost dropped the series as I am not typically a fan of sex scenes (for me the bane of the later books of the Anita Blake Vampire Series). But Handeland has a deft touch with such. Happily, I enjoyed the novel start to finish and am eagerly awaiting the release of the third book.

SB Frank Recommends:
If you haven't yet read the first book in the series, you should start with Any Given Doomsday. Any Given Doomsday (The Phoenix Chronicles, Book 1)

If you are looking for a similar series that describes an alternate, magical world in terms of apocryphal and Biblical references, you might also enjoy the work of Faith Hunter. Bloodring (Thorn St. Croix, Book 1)

Also, though the title is daunting, you might like Richele Mead's cleverly conceived series about the reluctant, warm-hearted succubus, Georgina Kincaid, which starts with Succubus Blues. Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid, Book 1)

After defeating the big bad in Any Given Doomsday, Liz Phoenix thinks she has thwarted Doomsday. We soon find out that is not the case. In her world of demon killers (DK's) and seers, (Liz is both) she must battle the forces of evil and continue in her quest to divert the end of the world as she knows it. On top of all that, she has a Navajo witch determined to kill her. She must depend on help from Sawyer, her mentor who is a skin walker, her ex-boyfriend, Jimmy Sanducci, who really is not a big help as he is fighting the vampire within him and last but certainly not least, Summer, the sarcastic fairy that slept with Liz's boyfriend.

Liz, as the federation leader, is learning the job as she goes along, and she always does what she thinks is best for the federation. However, she sometimes rushes headlong into righting the wrong. The book has great action scenes and constant surprises. Good characters, good action, and two sexy male characters make this book a very fun read.

I picked up these books for something a bit different. It took a little while to get into the first book Any Given Doomsday, but once the story took off you were taken in by it. The character are diverse and unique each one holding their own in the over all picture.

Doomsday Can Wait
by Lori Handeland
St. Martin's Paperbacks (April 28, 2009)

Handeland's Doomsday series is one of the best of the burgeoning paranormal fantasies based on biblical allusions to fallen angels, children of the fallen and human women, plus a clash of darkness and light.

Liz Phoenix is the resilient, sometimes frightened leader of Light. She says "I found myself the leader of a band of seers and demon killers at the dawn of the Apocalypse. Turns out a lot of that biblical prophecy crap is true".

Jimmy, whom she has loved for so many years, may be lost to the darkness that seeks to claim his vampiric strength, but if he can be saved he will be one of Liz's best assets in the coming apocalyptic battle.

Throughout this book and the last, Liz has gained immense power. She is fortunate in that her paranormal abilities increase through hot sex, usually provided by Sawyer the enigmatic, Navajo skinwalker and witch.

Doomsday Can Wait continues the nail-biting adventure, along with sizzling sex found in Any Given Doomsday. Book 3 in the series Apocalypse Happens came out in November.